getting serious

Deep into my third week of house hunting and in the last few days of the house let at Reminiac, another serious house appears on the horizon – at a charming village, Malensac, some 10 minutes or so from Redon. Up a short lane beside the pharmacie, it is bright and spacious – the front door opening onto what is currently a dining room – with a well-equipped kitchen to the left which has a nice view of the neighbour’s lawn. On the right of the house a large sitting room. Up a delightful wooden staircase, an open space in a large attic area used as an office gave (on the left) to 2 bedrooms and (on the right) to a third large bedroom. Outside, past the garage, a good vegetable garden area and new potting shed. All for 142,000. So what is it to be – this one which, as the agent rightly says, will sell and re-sell with no difficulty or the one in Finistere. Time for decision. I phone the Finistere agent to find out if she has been able to find me accommodation in the area while I check it out – and get an outline of the procedure. A birth certificate is needed!! Over lunch at St Martin on the canal, I make a rapid comparison of both the 2 houses and areas. Surprisingly the Finistere house scores well – with pluses being the neighbouring gite, the conservatory, the front garden, the charm of the front room and perspectives of upstairs rooms, the availability of almost all the furniture – and the present owners moving to the next door house (help with any issues on oil heating). There is a TGV at Morlaix in the north (about 45 mins drive compared with Redon being only 10 minutes or so away from Malansac).
The Malansac house has a slightly awkward garden arrangement (no lawn or front garden and the vegetable garden being round the garage corner).
Both houses are near the canal. Malansac has a Super U - and Plonevez sur Faou a small supermarket and 3 larger supermarkets 6 kms away. Both have medical facilities. Malansac has ready access to Vannes and the coast there – Plonevez sur Faou to Quimper and the more spectacular and less frequented Finistere coastline (inc Concarneau).